GREENFIELD — Nurses, union members and other supporters gathered around the two main entrances to Baystate Franklin Medical Center to cheer on the nurses who had to leave their shift as a three-day lockout began Sunday night in response to their planned strike.
The lockout, which started at 7 p.m. and is set to go through 7 p.m. on Wednesday, is in response to the one-day strike by nurses planned for today.
Sunday’s gathering was not a protest or a picket, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association, the union representing the nurses.
The crowds gathered on the street clapped and cheered as nurses walked out of their shift as required by the hospital, most one by one, around 7 p.m.
Both sides — Baystate Franklin and the nurses union — said the other walked away from the negotiating table sometime on Friday.
Temporary nurses were brought in for three days because that was the minimum required contract, according to Baystate Franklin Medical Center President Cindy Russo. She said it was important to have the strike covered by licensed and experienced nurses.
The hospital brought in additional security for the lockout, with guards in parking lots and at entrances. Parking lots were also barricaded. Russo said it was a necessary precaution for the safety of staff and patients. Greenfield Police was also present, but officers said they were a neutral party there to ensure the safety of both sides.
Nurses said the mood was sad inside the building. One nurse, who asked to not be identified by name for fear of retribution, said she had never experienced something like this in her 30 years at the hospital. She said another nurse on the shift was in the middle of filing a note on a patient when the computer system locked her out at 7 p.m.
The Department of Public Health and administrative and management hospital staff was on hand on Sunday for the hospital to ensure a smooth transition, according to Russo. It is standard protocol for the DPH to be on hand during strikes.
Donna Stern, senior chairwoman of the bargaining unit and nurse at the hospital, said the lockout was disturbing, considering it began in the middle of the 3 to 11 p.m. shift.
“We want to be there and give them support,” she said.
Stern said she’d like to see the hospital start bargaining in good faith.
Both sides said they are hopeful for an agreement to be reached. That sentiment between Stern and Russo has been expressed for months. The two sides continue to be at odds over a few main issues after about seven months of deliberation: overtime, holiday and sick time, appropriate staffing numbers and health insurance plans.
“My strong desire is to get back to the table,” Russo said.
The gathering lasted about an hour on Sunday night. Picketing by the union and the nurses is planned for 6 a.m. today.